Human Rights Watch has documented atrocities by troops under former Congolese general Bosco Ntaganda’s command for over 10 years. He had been sought by the International Criminal Court since 2006 for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in northeastern Congo in 2002 and 2003, including recruiting and using child soldiers, murder, rape and sexual slavery, and persecution. A former leader of the Rwanda-backed rebel group the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), in 2009 Ntaganda and his fighters were integrated into the Congolese army as part of a peace agreement. In April 2012, Ntaganda led a mutiny and became one of the main leaders of a new Rwanda-backed rebel group, the M23. M23 fighters have been responsible for widespread war crimes, including summary executions, rapes, and forced recruitment of children. In March 2013, following infighting between two M23 factions, Ntaganda turned himself in to the United States embassy in Rwanda and was flown to The Hague where he awaits trial before the International Criminal Court.

Congolese warlord Bosco Ntaganda looks on during his first appearance before judges at the International Criminal Court in the Hague on March 26, 2013.

The International Criminal Court's confirmation of 18 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity charges against the warlord Bosco Ntaganda should pave the way for broader justice in war-torn eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Bosco Ntaganda

The International Criminal Court's confirmation of 18 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity charges against the warlord Bosco Ntaganda should pave the way for broader justice in war-torn eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Congolese human rights activists and victims of abuses allegedly carried out by Bosco Ntaganda’s troops have expressed support and relief at the rebel leader’s transfer to the International Criminal Court.

The Congolese rebel leader Bosco Ntaganda’s first appearance before the International Criminal Court on March 26, 2013, will be a major achievement on the path to ending human rights abuses in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Congolese rebel leader Bosco Ntaganda is on a plane to The Hague, where he will face justice at the International Criminal Court, almost seven years after the court issued its first arrest warrant against him.

The Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs today announced that Bosco Ntaganda, a Congolese rebel leader wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity, surrendered himself to the United States embassy in Kigali, Rwanda.

M23 rebels and Congolese army soldiers raped scores of women and committed other war crimes during the rebels’ occupation of Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in late 2012. Ongoing talks among parties to the conflict, countries in the region, and the United Nations should ensure that any agreements include holding those responsible for war crimes to account and that rebel commanders with abusive records do not serve in the Congolese army.